Chapter 105 The Heart of the Lion

Chapter 105

The next day, Sunday morning.

Soren received two letters delivered by owls.

The first letter was a thank-you note from Slughorn, stating that his beloved disciple, Gwen, had been exonerated. It also included two VIP tickets to the team's seating area, which Slughorn mentioned were passed on by Gwen as a token of gratitude for Soren's help.

The second letter was a handwritten note from Scrimgeour. It was lengthy and the handwriting was messy, clearly written in a hurry.

After receiving Soren's lead yesterday, Scrimgeour had quickly gathered his team and set out, successfully locating the place where Griffith was held captive. However, it seemed that the captors had received word in advance and had already moved her before the Aurors arrived. The ability to achieve this indicated that their opponents were not simple; if they were just ordinary fans angered by Griffith's betrayal seeking revenge, or merely run-of-the-mill kidnappers looking for money, they wouldn't have the capability to anticipate the Ministry's actions.

Scrimgeour had realized that there were deeper waters behind this incident and that there must be a traitor leaking information within his own Auror team. Consequently, he began to distrust his subordinates. This time, he planned to bring only his trusted confidant, Gadwen Robaz, to Hogwarts later today. He had previously requested an audience with Dumbledore to discuss this matter with Soren.

Scrimgeour's letter surprised Soren; he initially thought that after providing the lead to Scrimgeour, he wouldn't be involved any further. He never expected that such a seemingly trivial case of a missing player could unravel so many subsequent issues. It appeared that there were many dark corners in the British wizarding world that he had yet to encounter!

It was easy to guess Scrimgeour's intentions; he merely wanted to inquire about the source of Soren's lead and see if more clues could be uncovered.

However, Professor Trelawney was one of his trump cards, and her divination abilities could not be casually exposed.

After thinking for a while, Soren came up with a response.

The meeting between Soren and Scrimgeour took place in an empty classroom that Soren had requested from Dumbledore. There were only the two of them in the classroom, while Gadwen Robaz stood at the door to keep watch, preventing anyone from eavesdropping.

"Uncle Scrimgeour, I suspect there's a traitor among your Aurors selling information," Soren pointed out the reason for the previous operation's failure.

Scrimgeour let out a cold hum. "This time, it was my oversight. I've always known that a few of my subordinates are restless, engaging in some disreputable dealings with outsiders. As long as it didn't disrupt the daily workings of the Auror office, I let it slide. I never expected them to grow so bold."

He then said seriously, "The issue is that I initially did not think this task was so complicated. I thought it was just fans causing a ruckus out of resentment, at most looking to demand ransom. I didn't take the confidentiality of the intelligence seriously. That was indeed my mistake, and now, Soren, you must help me. Due to the public and media attention, I'm under significant pressure from above. I must solve this case."

"I'm more curious," Soren said, "what will you do if you don't find any leads from me?"

Though Soren raised a question, he already had an answer in his mind—what else could the bureaucratic Ministry of Magic do, except find a scapegoat?

Scrimgeour's eyes sparkled with intelligence; he understood Soren's meaning very well. However, he had a bottom line—finding a scapegoat was not an issue, but if he didn't even try to do something, he felt he would be betraying his youthful ambition to become an Auror.

He slowly said, "What you're implying is…"

"Please don't misunderstand, Uncle Scrimgeour," Soren smiled. "Of course, I will help you, and I do have the ability to assist. However, I want to remind you that your Auror team really needs restructuring—my intelligence is also limited, and helping you like this would undoubtedly create enemies for myself, putting my informants in danger without any benefits…"

"Rest assured, Soren," Scrimgeour bit his teeth, as if making a difficult decision. "This time, Uncle will definitely reorganize this ineffective group of subordinates. As long as you're willing to help me, Uncle will absolutely not forget your kindness!"

Soren was waiting for this very sentence.

"Alright, then—Uncle, let's leave here first. Hogwarts cannot be accessed by Apparition; for this mission, you have to take me along. Just the two of us plus Robaz should be enough."

The three of them left the gates of Hogwarts and used Apparition to depart.

Diagon Alley, the intersection in front of Gringotts.

The three of them disguised as three men in black with simple transfiguration spells and stepped into Knockturn Alley.

Why come here?

This is because Soren estimated that since the Aurors have come looking for them, the two kidnappers of Griffith must be in a panic and will definitely need to discuss the next steps. And in discussing that plan, Griffith's name would inevitably come up, so—yes, Soren placed a taboo curse on the name "Vilda Griffith"!

Using the sensing capability of the taboo curse, Soren led the way, quickly passing the façade of the Borgin and Bork shop, traversing through one dark alley after another, and finally arriving at a very inconspicuous dead end.

Soren whispered, "This is the place."

Scrimgeour and Robaz exchanged glances, their expressions heavy with concern.

"Soren, this situation is probably more troublesome than we imagined…" Scrimgeour said.

"What do you mean?" Soren was surprisingly calm; to be honest, after learning about the "Ghost Society" and its backing by the "Walpurgis Knights," and also knowing about the existence of the "Dragon Shadow," he felt there was nothing that could scare him anymore.

"This alley connects to the notorious Black Sin Square. You can get in by tapping specific bricks, just like the wall at the Leaky Cauldron," Robaz explained to Soren. "The current issue is not how to get in, but…"

Scrimgeour frowned, "Behind Black Sin Square probably has a significant background, closely related to some high-ups in the Ministry of Magic. Over the years, Aurors have applied to raid this place but have never received approval…"

A glint flashed in Soren's eyes, and he said coldly, "Uncle, just say it—those high-ups refer to Auxley, Selwyn, Rol, and the others, right?"

Scrimgeour became somewhat embarrassed and cleared his throat, "With you helping Uncle like this, I don't want to hide it from you; it is indeed them. The Lestrange family was also previously involved, but you know, after that recent incident, there is hardly any difference between Lestrange and extermination."

A hint of a smile appeared on Soren's face, "So—Uncle, what do you plan to do now?"

Scrimgeour found himself in a dilemma. If he did not continue the investigation, he would be derelict, and the media and public would criticize him for inaction; if he continued investigating, he would be in the front line, making countless enemies, and his future would likely be very difficult…

"Rufus, I think—" Robaz's expression was also extremely grim, and he leaned close to Scrimgeour, whispering, "Let's forget it. We should follow our usual routine—find a blind little thief, force a confession, pin the whole crime on him, and then declare that Griffith has gone missing. While we might still face accusations of incompetence, at least we've caught the criminal, and they won't be able to say much…"

"We can't really just barge in, can we?" Robaz said, "The last Auror supervisor who did this was inexplicably dismissed within a week, and within a year, his home was broken into, and his entire family was killed by some unknown dark wizard, driving him insane and straight into St. Mungo's Hospital…"

The two remained silent for nearly ten minutes. Finally, Scrimgeour spoke up with difficulty, "Let's go!"

At this moment, Soren spoke with a sparkle in his eyes that contained both mockery and an unbreakable confidence, "Uncle, since you've already made the decision, I won't stop you. You go ahead! I've decided to stay here—even if you don't say it, I can guess Griffith's fate. I am a man; I cannot stand idly by in the face of her misfortune, especially knowing there is still a glimmer of hope for her—"

Soren's tone was solemn and sacred, and one could clearly feel his unwavering determination, "I don't want to listen to her cries in my dreams every night from now on, or face the torment of my conscience!"

"Soren, you!" Scrimgeour did not expect Soren to say this. He had great confidence in this young man, and Dumbledore knew that Soren had come out with him to take care of business. If something happened to Soren, it wouldn't be something that could just be solved by finding a scapegoat.

"Uncle, I have made up my mind. You don't need to say more." Soren's voice suddenly turned cold. "I won't implicate you. I will write a letter to my family right now to clarify this matter and cut off any connection with you. That way my family won't cause you trouble—"

"However, I have to say," Soren's voice became very light, as if he was talking to himself, "I am so disappointed! I thought Aurors were the ones who maintained stability in the wizarding world, a steadfast shield for the common people, heroes! Do you still deserve your conscience and the expectations of the people with your current actions?"

After finishing, Soren did not wait for them to respond. He pulled out a small piece of paper and tapped it with his wand. The paper immediately transformed into a small paper sparrow, flapping its wings and flying away.

Soren waved his hand nonchalantly and walked to the wall of the dead end, carefully examining the anomalies in the bricks on the wall.

Just as Soren reached out to touch one of the bricks, a wand suddenly extended from his side, quickly tapping several bricks, and the wall split open to the sides.

Scrimgeour's face turned ashen, clearly angry, but at the same time, his eyes rekindled with a lion-like ambition and fighting spirit.

"You've looked down on me, Soren," Scrimgeour said softly. "Now let me show you how this uncle of your became an Auror!" With that, he led the somewhat reluctant Robaz and marched forward with his head held high.

Standing behind them, Soren slightly curled his lips, revealing a sly smile.

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